The Use of Hydrogen as a Fuel for Inland Waterway Units

M. Morsy El Gohary, Yousri M. A. Welayaand Amr Abdelwahab Saad

The Use of Hydrogen as a Fuel for Inland Waterway Units

M. Morsy El Gohary1,2＊, Yousri M. A. Welaya1and Amr Abdelwahab Saad1

1. Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt
2. Marine Engineering Department, Faculty of Maritime Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Escalating apprehension about the harmful effects of widespread use of conventional fossil fuels in the marine field and in internal combustion engines in general, has led to a vast amount of efforts and the directing of large capital investment towards research and development of sustainable alternative energy sources. One of the most promising and abundant of these sources is hydrogen. Firstly, the use of current fossil fuels is discussed focusing on the emissions and economic sides to emphasize the need for a new, cleaner and renewable fuel with particular reference to hydrogen as a suitable possible alternative. Hydrogen properties, production and storage methods are then reviewed along with its suitability from the economical point of view. Finally, a cost analysis for the use of hydrogen in internal combustion engines is carried out to illustrate the benefits of its use as a replacement for diesel. The outcome of this cost analysis shows that 98% of the capital expenditure is consumed by the equipment, and 68.3% of the total cost of the equipment is spent on the solar photovoltaic cells. The hydrogen plant is classified as a large investment project because of its high initial cost which is about 1 billion US$; but this is justified because hydrogen is produced in a totally green way. When hydrogen is used as a fuel, no harmful emissions are obtained.

sustainable alternative energy sources; hydrogen fuel; hydrogen properties; hydrogen production; hydrogen storage; cost analysis; inland waterway units

1 Introduction1

The need for renewable or green energy sources, in addition to improving the efficiency of using current fossil fuels in the marine field, makes it necessary to replace or improve current fossil-fueled engines (Welaya et al., 2011).

Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and hydrogen can provide sustainable energy services, based on the use of routinely available indigenous resources. A transition to renewable based energy systems is looking increasingly likely as their costs decline while the price of oil and gas continues to fluctuate. Fossil fuel and renewable energy prices, and social and environmental costs are heading in an opposite direction and the economic and policy mechanisms needed to support the widespread dissemination and sustainable markets for renewable energy systems are rapidly evolving (Herzog et al., 1999).

The introduction of new fuel types like hydrogen into the field of maritime transport is considered to be a challenge due to the severe environmental conditions the marine power plant has to work in. Therefore, any attempts to introduce a new technology in this field must be accompanied by sufficient studies and experimental data to provide the ship designers and operators with enough information about the new type of fuel used. The demand on energy production will increase due to the growing population and sea borne trade. The use of other alternative fuels should start to replace diesel oil on board ships. Hydrogen is considered a good candidate for such replacement (El Gohary, 2012).

Using hydrogen as a fuel has been investigated in several publications such as those by Welaya et al. (2012), El Gohary and El Sherif (2006) and El Gohary (2009, 2013a, 2013b and 2013c), so the hydrogen engine or gas turbine is a dream that will come true in the near future particularly in the inland waterways transportation sector due to its short trip characteristic.

2 Marine conventional fuels

Marine conventional fuels are normally fossil fuels which contain large quantities of carbon and sulfur leading to increased harmful emissions along with nitrogen oxides resulting from the high temperature combustion of these hydrocarbon fuels. Over the last 50 years, while consumption of fossil fuels grew substantially, the world undertook a transition in its usage of fossil fuels, from solids (coal), to liquids (oil) to gases (natural gas). The performance characteristics of a solar powered unit were analyzed at different operating conditions. It was found that the efficiency of solar collectors was increased by increasing the angle of inclination, increasing the area of solar collectors and decreasing the water flow rate (Elshazly et al., 2010).

2.1 Fossil fuel reserves

Oil reserves are the estimated quantities of crude oil that are claimed to be recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions. Fig. 1 shows the crude oil reserves worldwide (Thakur and Rajput, 2011).

The total oil consumption per year is believed to becloseto 88 billion barrels which is about 2% of the international reserves. Thus by simple calculations it is clear that the international reserves will be consumed in about 50 years which makes these days the most crucial time to start developing new energies to avoid energy shortages like the one seen in 1973.

Fig. 1 World crude oil reserves locations

Worldwide use of petroleum and other liquids is estimated to grow from 85.7 million barrels per day in 2008 to 97.6 million barrels per day in 2020 and 112.2 million barrels per day in 2035 (Gaul et al., 2011).

Fuel prices are very dynamic and vary widely with the worldwide political situations and decisions made. As the middle-east is the major supplier of oil and gas, it is believed that the fuel prices will continue to rise and drop since no stable political solutions are apparent in the near future.

Most of the growth in liquids consumption is in the transportation sector, where, in the absence of significant technological advances, liquid fuels continue to provide much of the energy consumed. Liquid fuels remain an important energy source for transportation and industrial sector processes. Despite rising fuel prices, use of liquids for transportation will increase by an average of 1.4 percent per year, or 46 percent overall from 2008 to 2035 (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2011).

2.2 Fossil fuel prices

As shown in Fig. 2, three different scenarios are expected for the variation of fossil fuel prices between 2010 and 2030 (Harlan and Stonecypher, 2011).

Fig. 2 Oil prices scenarios

(1) Low: The approach taken is to attempt to establish a price floor for oil prices based on the lowest estimates.

(2) Central: For the central scenario, a simple supply and demand framework was used with assumed levels for the price elasticity of demand.

(3) High: similar to the central scenario but without an increase in the supply.

2.3 Fossil fuel prices

Fossil fuel emissions are considered to be the major problem of this type of fuel. The main pollutants are carbon mono- and dioxides CO and CO2, oxides of nitrogen NOx, hydrocarbons and sulfur dioxide SO2(El Gohary, 2012). The two main ways to minimize the emissions, especially with carbon, are carbon capture from fuels or using alternative sources of fuel such as natural gas (nonrenewable source of energy) or hydrogen (renewable source of energy).

3 The hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen as an element was discoveredby the British scientist Henry Cavendish in 1766, but the name “hydrogen”did not appear until 1788 when the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier gave it the name which was derived from the Greek words “hydro” and “genes” meaning “water” and“born of”.

3.1 Hydrogen fuel properties

As diesel took several years to be trusted in and to replace steam, hydrogen is predicted to take a period of time before it can be used in our industrial activities. But this period will be definitely shorter than that of diesel and other petroleum fuels since the technological advance is much faster now than it was a hundred years ago, and this is due to the advanced tools used to optimize the performance of powering problems.

Hydrogen fuel contains the lowest calorific value CV (120 kJ/gm) when compared to other fuel sources, where diesel has a calorific value of 45 kJ/gm, which means that hydrogen can provide almost triple the calorific value of diesel (Pierce, 1998). The comparison between these types has led to the reason why both hydrogen and natural gas are considerd to be the best alternatives for being applied to onboard ships specially from the view point of economic and environmental issues (Banawan et al., 2010).

Regarding hydrogen fuel properties, it was found that hydrogen will be theoretically safer in operation than other fuel sources because it is lighter and has less density than other fuels, as shown in Table 1. This leads to a lighter weight, and consequently more cargo can be carried (Germain et al., 2006).

Using computers in the marine field and the integration of the electronics and diesel engines has resulted in many benefits:

(1)Lower SFOC and better performance parameters thanks to the variable electronically controlled timing of fuelinjection and exhaust valves at any load.

(2)Improved emission characteristics, with lower NOx and smokeless operation(El Gohary and Abdou, 2011).

Table 1 Combustion properties of different fuels

3.2 Hydrogen production and storage

Hydrogen is not available as a conventional fossil fuel like natural gas, diesel oil or coal. Therefore, it must be produced either from renewable energy driven from electrolysis or from fuel processing of hydrocarbons (El Gohary, 2009; El Gohary and Saddiek, 2013).

3.2.1 Hydrogen production methods

There are several methods that can be used for hydrogen production as listed below, but since the aim is to produce hydrogen with the highest purity and the least amount of emissions, the water electrolysis method is selected as steam reforming (SR), partial oxidation reforming (POX), auto thermal reforming (ATR) and electrolysis.

3.2.2 Hydrogen storage methods

Hydrogen is an extremely difficult gas to store, which will limit its use until convenient and cost effective storage technologies can be developed and commercialized. Many technologies are available currently or are undergoing research for hydrogen storage as stated below, but until now none of these technologies have the ability to store as much hydrogen as the liquid storage method. Hydrogen is, therefore, suggested to be stored in insulated cryogenic tanks at -253oC as high pressure tanks, material based storage, metal hydride storage, chemical based storage and carbon based storage (Veldhuis et al., 2005).

4 Proposed hydrogen production plant (Case study)

The schematic diagram in Fig. 3 shows the proposed structure of the hydrogen plant. The solar panels along with the DC to DC converter provide a constant DC voltage supply to the electrolysis. A constant supply of pure water is fed to the electrolysis from a tank after passing the water through a distiller.

Fig. 3 Schematic diagram for a proposed solar hydrogen plant

It should be understood that 95 percent of this hydrogen is sold and transported to various places to be used as a fuel. The remaining 5 percent of the hydrogen produced is fed into a turbine which powers a 3-phase generator that generates AC voltage. This is converted back into DC voltage using an AC to DC converter. The DC voltage helps power the electrolysis.

The main storage methods include compressed gas, liquefaction and metal hydride methods. All these methods and technologies are applicable nowadays but the basis of our choice will be which option is the most economical.

4.1 Hydrogen storage for one day

The effects of increasing the hydrogen production rate on the storing cost for the three main storing methods (compressed hydrogen, liquid hydrogen and metal hydride storage), is illustrated in Fig. 4 for an assumed storing period of one day.

Fig. 4 Effects of the hydrogen production rate on storage costs for one day of storage

4.2 Hydrogen storage for two days

It is also required, as shown in Fig. 5, to illustrate the effect of increasing the hydrogen production rate on the storing cost of the three main hydrogen storing methods assuming that the storing period will be two days.

The river Nile navigation route between Alexandria and Aswan is taken as a case study. This route can be divided into five main points (Alexandria, Damietta, Cairo, Assiut and Aswan) where all the legs have equal navigation periods of 36 to 40 hours at a sailing speed of 12 knots. This leads us to choose storage tanks that can store hydrogen for 2 days (48 hours).

Fig. 5 Effects of the hydrogen production rate on storage costs for two days of storage

Based on Fig. (5), and from an economical view point, the compressed gas method is considered the optimum storage method.

The results of calculating the CapEx, OpEx and profitability of the hydrogen production plant are discussed below.

5 Calculation of results

5.1 Capital cost (CapEx)

As shown in Table 2, the equipment represents about 98 percent of the project CapEx.

Table 2 Equipment cost breakdown

5.2 Operating cost (OpEx)

The OpEx of the plant will be divided into fixed costs which consists of license and insurance, manpower and depreciation, and the variable costs which consists of maintenance and other costs.

(1) Fixed cost items.

License and insurance are assumed to be 5 percent of the project CapEx value, which will amount to $5 566 945. The plant manpower is assumed to be made up of 150 people with an average salary $1 000 each. This will make the total manpower salaries cost $1 800 000 and the depreciation of the plant is assumed to be a 15 year period. This will make the depreciation cost $74 225 928 per year.

(2) Variable cost items.

Maintenance of the plant is considered to be an effective factor in the variable cost calculations, as it represents 6.7 percent of the total OpEx. Other costs are added to cover the other variable cost items and are assumed to be 1 percent of the total OpEx.

5.3 Hydrogen plant profitability

It is clear from the above calculations that the profitability degree of this project will depend mainly on the selling price of hydrogen in a direct proportional relation. However, this price should always be compared with the selling price of diesel as it is the main competitor of hydrogen.

Fig. 6 Relationship between IRR, NPV and the selling price

In Fig. 6 the relationship between IRR, NPV and the selling price is illustrated for the proposed hydrogen plant. As the selling price increases, both the IRR and NPVincrease. When the selling price becomes $1 000/t, the IRR becomes 51 percent which is acceptable from the financial point of view.

6 Using hydrogen fuel in marine engines

Using hydrogen as a fuel will directly affect the cost/h and the cost/trip, as all engine fuel consumption will decrease by 35 percent. Hydrogen consumption will be examined in two marine engines and two marine generators, installed on two Nile barges currently in service.

(1) Doosan marine engine L126TIH.

(2) Volvo marine engine D16.

(3) Volvo marine generator D12.

(4) Volvo marine generator D5.

Figs.7-8 illustrate the effects of using hydrogen as a fuel on both cost/hr and cost/trip, for four different selling prices, on the selected engines and generators.

(1) Case 1: $500, selling price/tonne.

(2) Case 2: $750, selling price/tonne.

(3) Case 3: $1 000, selling price/tonne.

(4) Case 4: $1 250, selling price/tonne.

Fig.7 Cost/hour in US$ for the selected engines

Fig. 8 Cost/trip in US$ for the selected engines

7 Conclusions

The hydrogen production plant is classified as a large investment project due to its high initial cost; but this high cost is justified because hydrogen is produced in a totally green way.

The massive increase in energy demand plus the limited available sources of energy and the stringent emissions measures forced by international regulations, will accelerate the search for alternative sources of energy, and hydrogen is expected to play an important role in the future.

In order to use hydrogen as an alternative fuel for marine engines, a cost analysis of hydrogen production was carried out. The outcome of the current study showed that 98 percent of the capital expenditure was consumed by the equipment, and 68.3 percent of the equipment’s total cost was spent on the solar photovoltaic cells.

The profitability of the hydrogen plant is totally dependent on the selling price of hydrogen. Since diesel is well subsidized by the Egyptian government, it is a very hard competitor for any other fuel, especially hydrogen. In order for hydrogen to replace diesel as the mass fuel, it is necessary for hydrogen to provide the same conveniences offered by diesel such as reasonable running costs and long range consumption on a single tank. Until the technology to achieve this is developed, diesel will continue to dominate the fuel market.

8 Recommendation for the future

The Egyptian government needs to support the implementation of using hydrogen as a fuel through a firm commitment to sell diesel at its international price to the industrial and commercial sectors and keep the subsidization for those who need it. This will guarantee a fare competition between hydrogen and diesel fuels.

Abbreviations

AC Alternate current

DC Direct current

CO Carbon monoxide

CO2Carbon dioxide

NOX Nitrogen oxides

SO2Sulfur dioxide SFC

SFC Specific fuel consumption (g/kW.hr)

SR Steam reforming

POX Partial oxidation reforming

ATR Auto thermal reforming

CapEx Capital cost

OpEx Operating cost

IRR Internal rate of return

NPV Net present value

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Author biographies

M. Morsy Elgohary was born in 1969. He holds a PhD in diesel engines (2004) from Hannover University, Germany and he has written more than 30 academic papers. He is an associated professor at the marine engineering department at Alexandria University and works as a head of the Marine Engineering Department, King Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia currently. His current research interests are green ship energy, marine diesel engines, marine alternative fuels and energy conservation onboard ships.

Yousri M. A. Welaya is an emeritus professor at the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Alexandria University. Current research work includes the dynamic behavior of damaged semi-submersibles, environmental loading on offshore structures and energy management options in marine power plants.

Amr Abdelwahab Saad holds a masters degree (2013) from the Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. He is an engineer at a Nile floating hotels company. His current research interests include hydrogen fuel applications in the marine field, renewable energy and modern marine power plants.

1671-9433(2014)02-0212-06

date: 2013-09-22.

Accepted date: 2013-10-12.

＊Corresponding author Email: prof.morsy@gmail.com

© Harbin Engineering University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014